It might not be something we think about every day, but music has a huge influence in our lives. It touches us deep in the heart, chasing away the blues, bringing back fond memories and connecting us with each other,
It might not be something we think about every day, but music has a huge influence in our lives. It touches us deep in the heart, chasing away the blues, bringing back fond memories and connecting us with each other, besides making us dance like no one is watching.
Matt Bolton’s music does all that. The young musician seems to have a fondness for small crowds, in bars and lounges where the interaction between the performer and the public creates a friendly, warm feeling. It’s inevitable; every time Bolton plays his rock’n’roll the public ends up on the dance floor.
“We get people dancing two or three hours a night, that’s what we do,” Bolton categorically says of his band.
He’s right. His music is melodic, yet vibrant and alive.
“What I really like about music is seeing people having a good time and celebrating,” Bolton said.
But don’t think for a moment that Bolton’s music is only a reflection of what his public wants to hear. The interaction is what makes his art so interesting.
“A lot of times the songs I’m trying to play are the songs I love,” Bolton said. “I want other people to hear them; they move me emotionally.”
A fat stack of 10 songbooks sitting near Bolton during his performances is a frightening sign of what he can do with musical notes. But he also plays his own songs. The young musician is a talented songwriter, with deep roots in old rock’n’roll songs.
On Friday nights he performs at Tahiti Nui alongside drummer Rhett Pierce and bass and guitar player Jeff Caldwell. The three of them are always coming up with new ways to play old songs, keeping things interesting for the audience and musicians.
“A lot of times we’ll be playing songs at the Nui, and it’s the first time all three of us have ever played it in front of a crowd,” said Bolton, admitting that sometimes he gets a little nervous not knowing if a song will work out as he imagined.
Bolton said he might hear a song at home, and immediately think: “Oh man, I think I can do that song as a rock song.” He’ll have it in his head, and when he arrives at his gig, he’ll tell Caldwell which key the song is, give Pierce a hand sign, and then go: “one, two, three, let’s go.”
“Sometimes it doesn’t work and sometimes it really works,” he said.
For the most part though, it works, which is an amazing thing considering Bolton said the only rehearsals they do are five minutes before the show.
Bolton grew up in Long Island, N.Y., and started playing the saxophone when he was really young. Then his grandmother, who was a concert pianist, turned him on to the keyboards.
By the time he reached high school, he was playing in jazz bands. It was around that time when he first started “fooling around” with the guitar. By the end of high school he was already doing gigs at parties.
To this day, the singer and composer still creates most of his songs on the piano.
“It’s all laid out in front of you, you’re looking at the keyboard and things just happen,” Bolton said.
If you ever had a chance to see Bolton and his band playing, you probably got the feeling of what their show is all about — having a good time onstage and sharing the same feeling with the public.
With this in mind, Bolton has already done some amazing things. Last year, filling in for a member of Todd Rundgren’s band, he toured the whole country by plane.
A little while after coming back, he left on tour again, this time in a way many musicians only dream about; traveling the whole West Coast with two friends in an old 34-foot RV, stopping in towns next to each other, and playing six to seven nights a week.
Bolton and his band were on the road for three months, and said they made a decent amount of money, something they were unsure of when they started. He jokes that they would’ve made a lot more if the 1987 RV hadn’t broken down so often and blown both front tires on the road, nearly killing them.
He’s already planning a similar tour for later this year, only this time they will take the mountains.
In the meantime, Bolton is slowly crafting his second CD, which his legion of fans will have to wait for until probably next year.
His first CD, “Just the Echo,” shows an impressive maturity for a first-time release. But then again, Bolton has been playing music his whole life.
Every Friday Bolton plays with his band at Tahiti Nui, from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. On Sundays he plays acoustic guitar by himself at the Nui. He also plays at varied schedules at Trees Lounge, behind Coconut Market Place. To find out his schedule at Trees call 823-0600.
On St. Patrick’s Day, this Wednesday, Bolton will do a double show at Tahiti Nui. He’ll play only Irish music, from 7 p.m. to midnight. He does this every year, and the Hanalei spot gets super crowded.
For more information on Bolton’s schedule and to purchase his CD, visit www.mattbolton.com.
